Gov. Chris Christie's Mouth Stepped In It Deep This Time

[Cricket]

I had some serious respect for this guy in the past. I actually appreciated that he stood up for what he believed is right no matter what people thought, but this stepped completely over the line. So far, the feedback on his actions have not been good. It is going to take one heck of an apology for him to get past this....


Gov. Chris Christie Calls Veteran An Idiot In Shouting Match
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1334963.html

Your thoughts?

[deraya]

i just can't say anything yet

[Nealrm]

Unfortunately with the editing done to the clip it is not possible to tell what happened. The clip and the article underneath do not match. The article stated that brown kept making his argument while the governor was speaking. Yet the clip only showed that governor speaking and calling the guy an idiot. The applause in the background indicated at least some of the crowd agreed with the governors comments.

So unless there is another unedited video that tells more of the story, we can't really say if the guy was being an idiot or the governor was being a bully.

[Cricket]

In my humble opinion, no matter what was said by the former Navy Seal (or any other person) it is up to the Governor to remain cool and professional. Respect is not an option. Debate with passion, stand firm on your beliefs, but ALWAYS maintain respect. Just my 2 cents.

[Nealrm]

I can agree with that. If the guy was disrupting the meeting, he should have just left it at having him escorted out.

[Bob Barr]

Originally Posted by Cricket

I had some serious respect for this guy in the past. I actually appreciated that he stood up for what he believed is right no matter what people thought, but this stepped completely over the line. So far, the feedback on his actions have not been good. It is going to take one heck of an apology for him to get past this....


Gov. Chris Christie Calls Veteran An Idiot In Shouting Match
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1334963.html

Your thoughts?

Given huffington post's political leanings (they're all but falling over to the left), I'm going to have to see reports of the incident from somewhere else before I express opinion. (If huffpo said the sky was blue, I'd have to go outside to look before I believed it.)

[snakeair]

I didn't even vote for him and sometimes his attitude get's him in deep water. It happens a lot but he has did some good for NJ despite his bad mouth.

If he wasn't the gov. he'd get punched right in the face for his comment's. Guess i'll pick up a newspaper this weekend (local one)

[ScriptMan]

Originally Posted by Cricket

In my humble opinion, no matter what was said by the former Navy Seal (or any other person) it is up to the Governor to remain cool and professional. Respect is not an option. Debate with passion, stand firm on your beliefs, but ALWAYS maintain respect. Just my 2 cents.

While I agree with you 100% for what you said above; I would also like to be in court the first time this 'dude' (used intentionally) pulls this crap with a Judge. Vet or not his butt is going to be in the drunk tank for the entire weekend.

Respect is always a two a way street. You have to give to get.

I also agree with BobBarr.

[snakeair]

Here is another story on this from my local news website i check out instead of buying the paper all the time.

The most-heated town hall clash of the year started today with a shouting match, drove Gov. Chris Christie to call a vocal opponent to the proposed Rutgers Camden-Rowan merger an "idiot," and ended with a stern talking-to by police.

Just four questions in, Christie called on William Brown, a 34-year-old law school student and veteran from Mt. Laurel, who explained, calmly at first:

"I know that all my friends in the military no matter what state they’re from respect that fact that I go to Rutgers. It’s also true that none of my friends in the military no matter what state they’re from have ever heard of Rowan."

Brown, a Democrat who ran an unsuccessfully for Assembly last year, says he’s a Navy Seal who served in Iraq. As he testified before the Rutgers Board of Governors last month, he argued the...

Continued at: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...rt_in_hea.html

Mt. Laurel is not even a 10 minute drive for me. This is local enough folks.

[Bob Barr]

From Philly.com:

The Republican governor snapped back after Brown repeatedly interrupted him as he tried to say why he was going to push the merger through in the face of increasingly mobilized and vocal opposition.

"Listen, pal, I sat here and listened to your story and your position . . . and if you decide what you want to do is put on a show today, let me tell you something, I can go back and forth with you as much as you want," Christie said.

The governor said that not everyone at Rutgers was against the merger and that he was "providing opportunities for a bigger and better university."

Said Brown: "Nobody at Rutgers wants it, nobody in South Jersey."

Christie, his voice rising, retorted: "And let me tell you something, if, after you graduate from law school, you conduct yourself like that in a courtroom, your rear end's going to be thrown in jail, idiot."

Excerpt. Story at: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/po...142009403.html

[G10]

Christie, his voice rising, retorted: "And let me tell you something, if, after you graduate from law school, you conduct yourself like that in a courtroom, your rear end's going to be thrown in jail, idiot."

Firstly, Christie showed a character flaw in raising his voice and calling a member of the public an idiot.

My God, if the guy can't take some heat from a heckler and someone that is obviously passionate about his own views, then he's in the wrong job as lord only knows how he will react when confronted behind the scenes and away from public.

A polititions job is to stay calm in the face of (extremely mild) adversity and not resort to this.

Surely Christie would have come off better if he was calm, collected and let the security deal with the issue as he proved that even when someone throws things a little off track, he can deal with it professionaly.

Hate to say it but I am with Cricket on this.. (make the most of it hon, this doesn't happen often) ;-)

[seenBEST]

This guy is as big of a disgrace as Limbaugh.

[Breeze Wood]

Said Brown: "Nobody at Rutgers wants it, nobody in South Jersey."

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0302/0053/

Who Decided to Give Away Rutgers-Camden?

.............

Opponents argue that the two schools are very different types of institutions. A merger would eliminate the opportunity of residents of South Jersey to attend Rutgers locally. It would leave the state university without a presence in the southern half of the state. And it would leave South Jersey residents with a choice of only two public colleges to attend.

Not being familiar with NJ politics, it never the less gives me pause when reading their governor is involved with the dissolution of such a famous institution as Rutgers University.

and as everyone knows public education is a subject matter any politician should know is a heartfelt subject-matter for those directly involved ...

Christie seems to have been baiting the matter when seeking applause form the audience seeking their support.

Bob B: Given huffington post's political leanings (they're all but falling over to the left), ....

Huffington Post is a "hoot" but fun reading and does cover a lot of Topics - and digests the left more often than not as well as the right - sensationalism than strictly newscasting. 2c

[snakeair]

Christie has did some good for NJ but he still hasn't taken care of important things. Take this for an example:

Gov. Chris Christie's third budget not much better for N.J.'s poor

The cuts Gov. Chris Christie imposed on programs for the working poor in his first two budgets were inexcusable when you consider how hard it is to raise a family in New Jersey on a low-wage job. And now, when you look at his third-year budget, you can see only slight improvements. His priorities haven’t changed much, despite the fact the fiscal crisis has eased.

Let’s review what he did in his first two years:

Source: http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_pag...hird_budg.html

Across the street from me they built a new Apartment complex and it's for low income families making $30,000 or less. The place is better then my apartment complex but i make over that amount so i am stuck in this 40 year old apartment complex. The town i live in isn't a poor town at all but it's harder and harder for families to make a decent income because Christie isn't doing much to help them out. Eh, i can't wait till it's time to vote again in Jersey.

[snakeair]

Ok, more news on my states Gov.

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey has not been without controversy. This time it is because he called a law student former NAVY SEAL an idiot. The incident happened during a town hall meeting where every time Christie tried to make a point, 34-year-old William Brown interrupted him.

The debate turned into a shouting match and Mr. Brown was escorted out. This prompted Christie to say “And let me tell you something, if after you graduate from law school you conduct yourself like that in a courtroom, your rear end’s going to be thrown in jail, idiot,”

When asked today if he regretted his comments Christie said that he respected Brown’s military service but that”doesn’t give him the right to be a jerk.”

Continued at: http://www.webpronews.com/chris-chri...-idiot-2012-03

[Cricket]

This blew my mind...

The governor called Brown an “idiot” again to the crowd after Brown left and said, “Damn, man, I’m governor! Could you just shut up for a second?”
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics...-for-a-second/

I don't care WHO you are, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie!

Speaking to someone in that manner makes YOU sound like the idiot.

[Bob Barr]

I've noticed an interesting contrast between the media treatment of William Brown versus that of Joe the Plumber back during the 2008 campaign.

Within 24 hours of Joe's incident with then-candidate Obama, Joe the Plumber had had his complete background investigated by the media. We learned the status of his expired plumbing license, old legal actions against him, and just about every other aspect of his life. There hasn't been any such media interest in looking into William Brown's background.

[txshellie]

Here is another clip that shows more of the interchange....

+ YouTube Video

I've got a completely different take on this. I think that Christ Christie was calling him an idiot because as a lawyer he was noting that this guy's behavior is really not going to be an asset to him when he graduates with that Rutgers degree.

You may not agree with a judge in court but you don't kibbutz and talk over him.

I think of the 10's of thousands of dollars that are probably being spent to educate this veteran and considering he is a second year law student you'd think he'd be able to speak clearly, speak respectfully and make a cogent argument and be respectful to the speaker/governor at the same time.

So, I guess at what point do you allow a public official to be human and get fed up with continual rudeness?

[G10]

Originally Posted by txshellie

Here is another clip that shows more of the interchange....



I've got a completely different take on this. I think that Christ Christie was calling him an idiot because as a lawyer he was noting that this guy's behavior is really not going to be an asset to him when he graduates with that Rutgers degree.

You may not agree with a judge in court but you don't kibbutz and talk over him.

I think of the 10's of thousands of dollars that are probably being spent to educate this veteran and considering he is a second year law student you'd think he'd be able to speak clearly, speak respectfully and make a cogent argument and be respectful to the speaker/governor at the same time.

So, I guess at what point do you allow a public official to be human and get fed up with continual rudeness?

Yes he is allowed to be human and we all make mistakes, of course, though it doesn't just end there..

And then when asked if he regrets what he said, instead of just saying "Yess, my reactions were wrong also" and leaving it at that, he had to say "but it doesn't give the guy a right to be an idiot".

Seems to me like always trying to justify himself and instead of just being humble. This guy seems to make typical schoolboy errors... "yes it was wrong sir, but, but, but, Tommy said...."

[Bernard]

I can forgive an abrasive personality if someone is representing my interests. Gov. Christie lost me when he "kneeled before Zod":

The state’s medical marijuana program is on life support now, thanks to Gov. Chris Christie’s latest bit of bureaucratic sabotage.

This law, which offers a measure of compassion to patients in severe pain, was signed by Gov. Jon Corzine on his last day in office. It was supposed to be ready within six months — about a year ago — but the administration has placed one absurd hurdle after another in its path.
...
And last week, Christie pulled out the big gun. Because marijuana is illegal under federal law, he said, he will not allow the program to move forward until federal authorities assure him they will not prosecute.

Understand that this clash with federal law is nothing new. What’s new is the governor’s ultimatum.

The governor is a former federal prosecutor and knows he will not get the letter he says he wants. ...

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_pag...dical_mar.html

Way to represent your State and constituents before the almighty FedGov.